What to Know About Noor Tagouri, the Activist Misidentified by 'Vogue'

Noor Tagouri, the 24-year-old Libyan-American journalist and social media star, received an outpouring of support on Instagram after speaking out against Vogue for misidentifying her in a February issue feature.

After realizing they had printed her name as Noor Bukhari (a Pakistani actress), she described the realization as leaving her “heartbroken and devastated."

“Misrepresentation and misidentification is a constant problem if you are a Muslim in America," she captioned an Instagram post that documented her reaction to seeing the piece for the first time. "And as much as I work to fight this, there are moments like this where I feel defeated.”

Tagouri has achieved a lot of success in her young journalism career—here's what you should know about her.

Tagouri's journalism career started early.

After attending Prince George’s Community College in Maryland at the age of 16 and graduating with a 4.0 GPA and highest honors, she was then offered a full merit scholarship to the University of Maryland. She majored in broadcast journalism and graduated from the school at the age of 20. From there she worked at CBS Radio, had tenure at CTV News, and then became a reporter for Newsy. Her journalism work has also appeared in the Washington Post, Forbes, Refinery 29, and People Magazine.

Her focus on identity and culture led to her become a news reporter and social media influencer.

An overarching theme in Tagouri’s work is her support for women of color, Muslim-American representation, and preserving one’s identity. Tagouri became a social media phenomenon when she started the viral hashtag #LetNoorShine, documenting her quest to become the first hijab-wearing anchor on a nationally syndicated news program. Since the start of #LetNoorShine, Tagouri has gone on to do a Tedx Talk.

In 2016, she became the first hijab-wearing woman to appear in Playboy.

As a part of the legacy magazine’s “Renegades of 2016” feature, Tagouri appeared on the pages of the newly revamped Playboy—fully clothed—and also wearing her hijab. The photos and Tagouri’s agreement to the feature led to a split reaction from fans and readers.

Tagouri took to her personal website to address the controversy, standing by her decision telling her social media followers, "A fully clothed 22-year-old Muslim American Libyan Woman took an iconic magazine and used it to spread a positive and much-needed message.”

She continued, "I did what so many women with inspiring messages of hope would have been uncomfortable doing because success for a woman is often predicated on what society deems appropriate for us to succeed in."